Employees at King, developer of Candy Crush and a Microsoft subsidiary, may start a strike in Sweden this Friday (25) after more than a year of negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement. Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer filed the formal notice of the work stoppage on September 15, while mediation tries to prevent the start of the movement.
The dispute involves Midasplayer AB, King's legal name in Sweden, which employs just over 550 people at the Stockholm and Malmö offices. The unions advocate an agreement that establishes conditions on job security, pensions, and employee participation in work-related decisions.
Negotiations began in 2025. Sveriges Ingenjörer says that King stated in June of this year that it did not intend to sign the collective agreement.
King says current conditions are already competitive
King maintains its decision not to join the agreement. Director of Operations Ulrika Höjgård told SVT that the company considers its current conditions and benefits equivalent to or better than those provided for in a collective agreement.
Unionen, on the other hand, says that workers are seeking greater security and influence over their working conditions.
Medlingsinstitutet, the Swedish agency responsible for mediating labor disputes, appointed Kurt Eriksson to lead the negotiations. If no agreement is reached, the strike by Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer begins on September 25.
Three other unions — Naturvetarna, DIK, and Akademikerförbundet SSR — have also announced solidarity actions. If the impasse continues, their members at King may stop work starting on September 29.
